| After Syrian pullout,
Lebanese youths to dismantle 'freedom camp' BEIRUT
- Lebanese youths are to dismantle their "freedom camp" on Beirut's Martyrs'
Square after spending 74 nights there, saying their "uprising" has achieved
their key demands, chiefly Syria's troop pullout.
"Now that our main demands have been achieved, the camp will be dismantled during an
evening ceremony on Saturday," Muin Ahmadiyeh, coordinator for youth movements at the
improvised camp, told AFP.
"We will hold a dinner for the 300 youths, their friends and family this
evening," he said.
Opposition youth movements have occupied the frontline of the "uprising for the
independence" that has gripped the country since the February 14 assassination of
popular former prime minister Rafiq Hariri.
The killing, which many Lebanese blamed on the pro-Syrian regime and their political
masters in Damascus, triggered massive protests that led to the resignation of the
government and saw Syria end its 29-year military presence on Tuesday.
"Syria is now out, the United Nations has launched an international inquiry into
Hariri's killing, the government has resigned, security chiefs have been sacked and
elections will take place on time next month," said Ahmadiyeh.
Veteran politicians have admitted the crucial role played by the youth movement that began
with young men and women congregating on Martyrs' Square for Hariri's funeral, two days
after his killing. |